1/16/2013 - Ft. Lauderdale

1/26/2013

I have been on my journey now for 10 days and decided I have seen enough to start blogging. I plan to be brutally honest on this blog and really let it all hang out.  There are two things on this journey that will most likely be reoccurring themes: people and places. I think the two are greatly intertwined and cannot be separated.

I started my journey with Tracy and Jesus in Ft. Lauderdale, where we stayed for two days.  Our initial view of Ft. Lauderdale started just outside the airport doors as a miniature, 2-door, convertible PT Cruiser arrived to retrieve us. The vehicle was only superseded in its tininess by the driver, Mitch. Mitch is the cutest and smallest man I have ever met, tipping the scales at 100 pounds.  My first impression was how sweet little Mitch was, heaving our large luggage into the tiny trunk of his silver PT Cruiser. We finally agreed that our combined 6 pieces of luggage was not going to fit and I conceded to sit on a suitcase in the back seat as Mitch let down the roof on the convertible to accommodate my head.

We proceeded to the hotel, which was not horrible considering we got a great deal on Priceline.  During check in, Jesus noticed he was missing a bag, which he quickly decided was left in a cart in arrivals next to where PT Cruiser had idled for several minutes. He was most likely distracted by the lively debate on how to most effectively force our many pieces of luggage in the car.  Jesus and Mitch frantically returned to the car in a hurry to attempt to retrieve his bag before it was swept away by the airport bomb squad. About an hour later, Jesus and Mitch arrived with the bag in tow and an entertaining story of tracking down security after several middle-age women riffled through his personal stash of prophylactics.

Mitch seemed to have a racket on the Black less than 5 foot market in Ft. Lauderdale and was easily recognized by the locals.  Apparently, Ft. Lauderdale has a thriving gay community that is concentrated on a minuscule island called Walton Manor.  Walton Manor is bustling with quaint eateries, energetic dance clubs and smoke filled bars.  We spent 2 days in this fun, yet alternate reality full of cargo shorts, manicured eyebrows, rainbow colored cocktails and rhythmic dance videos playing on every screen. Basically, Walton Manor is a small piece of paradise for our friends of Dorothy.